The year of slaying cricketing Goliaths

Captain Ricky Ponting has won two World Cups and 48 Tests as captain. Despite such a record, he had to completely give up his captaincy in 2011 only to find himself fighting for a place in the team.

While South African Graeme Smith continues to be Test captain, he has given up stewardship of the shorter formats of the game.

Anil Kumble was the spinning spearhead for India for many years and after his retirement, Harbhajan remained the spinner of choice for quite some time.

Then for the first time in ages in the West Indies series, newcomers Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin together picked up 42 out of the 60 Test wickets on offer. Bhajji finds himself out in the cold for the next series too.

Image: Australian batsman Ricky Ponting inspects his bat after been dismissed by New Zealand on the fourth day of the second cricket Test match played at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart on December 12, 2011.